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Wikipedia: Volkswagen XL1
The Volkswagen XL1 (VW 1-litre) is a two-person limited production diesel-powered plug-in hybrid produced by Volkswagen. The XL1 car was designed to be able to travel 100 km on 1 litre of diesel (280 mpg‑imp; 240 mpg‑US), with a fully charged battery, while being both roadworthy and practical. Without using electric, the XL is able to travel 100 km on 2 litres of diesel. To achieve such economy, it was produced with lightweight materials, a streamlined body and an engine and transmission designed and tuned for economy. The concept car was modified first in 2009 as the L1 and again in 2011 as the XL1.
If you ever get a chance to pick up one of these cheaply, do it.
Guardian: Weatherwatch: Space rockets helping trigger noctilucent clouds
Noctilucent clouds are a rare and special sight. Only visible at latitudes between 45° and 80°, these shimmering wispy silvery-blue clouds can occasionally be seen high in the sky on a clear summer’s night. But in recent decades they have been making more frequent appearances and now a new study reveals that space launches are helping to spawn them.
Can Gouda’s Cheesemakers Stall a Sinking Future?
The cheese industry in the region [accounts] for about 60 percent of the national cheese production, with an export value of $1.7 billion annually, according to ZuivelNL, which represents the Dutch dairy sector.
But it’s unlikely the cheese market will be here in 50 to 100 years because of a confluence of a few factors, experts say: The city, built on peat marsh, has always been vulnerable to sinking, and that risk is now greater because increased rainfall and rising sea levels — a consequence of climate change — threaten to flood the river delta in which it sits.
This is no Gouda.
pv magazine: ClearVue integrated solar window tech cracks Middle East construction market
Western Australia-based integrated solar glazing technology company Clearvue Technologies has added Aluminium Technology Auxiliary Industries (Alutec), Qatar to its growing global list of licensed manufacturers and distributors.
Under the agreement, Alutec will manufacture and distribute ClearvuePV Solar Vision Glass, a product that integrates solar technology into building façades to enhance energy efficiency and sustainability and be distribution rights to Clearvue’s building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) solutions which incorporate solar technology into building façades.
The Trace: The Secret Operation to Dismantle America’s Gun Laws
Sutherland is much less public about the CDF, which in the half-decade since its rechristening has evolved from spreading the good news to facilitating a far-reaching, multimillion-dollar legal campaign to dismantle America’s gun laws. From 2020 to 2022, the CDF collected $12 million in cash and funneled nearly $10 million to two connected gun rights groups and a D.C. law firm, Cooper & Kirk, which together have filed at least 21 lawsuits since 2020 that challenged gun restrictions. These lawsuits, aimed at getting an eventual Supreme Court hearing, concern bans on AR-15-style rifles and high-capacity magazines, as well as restrictions on young adults buying and carrying handguns. During its next term, which begins in October, the court will hear one of the suits, a challenge to the government’s ability to check the spread of home-produced, unserialized “ghost guns.”
Cult of Mac: Apple Arcade game developers complain about the service
Frustrated game developers continue to vent about working on Apple Arcade titles, in a new report citing anonymous sources. In the story, a follow-up to one from earlier this year that noted “the smell of death around the service,” devs complain about poor communication with Apple, slow payouts, and big problems working on Vision Pro games.
The opinions expressed in the new story aren’t entirely negative, but they paint a pretty ugly portrait of Apple Arcade from some developers’ perspectives.
Cult of Mac: Strong iPad sales help return Apple to revenue growth
Apple broke a string a weak quarters by announcing a 5% year-over-year increase in revenue for the June quarter Thursday, setting a new record for the quarter. iPad had an especially strong quarter, up 24%, and company’s services sector also grew by double digits.
InsideEVs: Which EV Has The Best User Experience?
Earlier today, Porsche’s head of style, Michael Mauer, said that the German luxury sports car maker will steer clear of tacky, tablet-like displays glued on top of the dashboard. That’s not to say future Porsche vehicles won’t have any screens–that would be a bit too analog for what is considered a luxury brand. Instead, the company will stick to smaller displays and, probably more importantly, physical buttons.
Hear, hear!
Stuff: ‘I have never felt a punch like this’: The 46 seconds that rocked the Paris Olympics
After 46 seconds, two blows to the head and a busted nose, Italian Angela Carini left the ring as the most talked-about athlete on the planet after withdrawing from her bout with a fighter who had previously failed gender eligibility tests.
Carini’s bout against Algeria’s Imane Khelif had attracted the attention of the world’s media, due to the North African being allowed to compete in Paris despite having been disqualified from the world championship in New Delhi in 2023 for failing a gender eligibility test.
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Neither Khelif nor Lin has publicly identified as transgender or as having “differences in sexual development” (DSD).
Transgender women athletes who have transitioned after going through male puberty are different from DSD athletes.
In the context of the Olympics, DSD covers athletes who were assigned female gender at birth but have naturally occurring testosterone levels high enough to suggest internal sexual characteristics that are not typically male or female.
PBS News: Crews struggle to contain rapidly spreading Park Fire in California
An especially active fire season is exacting a huge toll across several Western states.
A series of fires have turned deadly in Colorado, where at least one person was found dead. In California, more than 5,800 personnel, 500 fire trucks and 40 helicopters are battling a fire that’s larger than all of Los Angeles. The Park Fire, as it’s known, is the country’s largest and has ballooned to historic proportions in just over a week.
Stuff: The Trial (podcast)
On Easter Monday 2021, police were called to the home of a successful professional couple in the affluent Auckland suburb of Remuera. They found the body of Pauline Hanna.
In his emergency call, her husband, Philip Polkinghorne, said she killed herself. Sixteen months later he was charged with her murder. As this podcast is released, he’s currently on trial at the High Court in Auckland.
Stuff’s groundbreaking series returns to take you inside the Polkinghorne trial: Hear the witnesses, follow the evidence, wait for the verdict.
The trial is continuing in New Zealand.
Last Updated: 01.Aug.2024 22:52 EDT
